Business Platinum Card® from American Express Review

 

Overview

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is a card targeted towards Canadian small business* owners who love to travel and want to avail of benefits that can make that travel better. From providing the best airport lounge access benefit out of any cards in Canada, hotel elite status, discounts on premium class flights and so much more this card was developed with travel in mind. It is due to its long list of benefits and very good points earning and redeeming options that the Business Platinum Card is the best Ultra Premium small business card that is available publicly. That being said you don't have to be a frequent traveller to have this card and in fact many Canadians who only travel once or twice per year have this card as well as it is known for dining benefits and great Amex Offers promotions which don't require you to travel! Then when you do travel you have all those benefits to make use of.

* This also includes sole proprietorships (your SIN works as your business number) , partnerships, corporations and so on.

Costs & Sign up Features

The Business Platinum Card from American Express has an annual fee of $799. This is one of the highest fees in Canada for a small business card however it more than makes up for it with all the features and benefits provided. For additional cards there are two options. You can add additional Business Platinum cardmembers for $250 annually and those supplementary cardholders will avail of all the same benefits as the primary cardmember like lounge access etc. If you don't require that for the additional cardholders you can add American Express Business Gold Rewards Card as the additional card for no charge

The standard welcome bonus on the card offers 50,000 Membership Rewards Points however the card frequently has limited time increased welcome bonus offers.

Right now the Business Platinum Card from American Express has a welcome bonus of up to 150,000 Membership Rewards points available until January 28, 2025. The bonus is awarded as follows:

• Earn 110,000 Membership Rewards® points after you charge $15,000 in net purchases to your Card in your first 3 months of Cardmembership. Offer ends Jan 28, 2025.
• Plus, earn 40,000 points when you make a purchase between 14 and 17 months of Cardmembership. Offer ends Jan 28, 2025.
  

Earning

The card earns Membership Rewards points like other proprietary consumer and small business American Express cards. The points earning is nice and simple as follows:

• 1.25 Points per dollar spent on all eligible purchases
  

Point Valuation Chart

Spending Category	Points earned per dollar spent	Rate of return when booking your own travel	Rate of return Cash Back	Rate of return when booking Amex's Fixed Points for Travel	Rate of return when converting to airline & hotel programs
All spending	1.25	1.25%	1.25%	up to 2.5%	1.25% to 7.5% or higher

Redeeming

The Business Platinum Card from American Express participates in Amex's Membership Rewards program which is the best credit card reward program in Canada as it has so many valuable redemption options. You can redeem points for any travel you book with the card, you can redeem points for any purchase you make on the card, you can redeem via Amex's Fixed Points for Travel and you can convert your points to Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Executive Club, Marriott Bonvoy and numerous other programs.

If you redeem using the Use Points for Purchases option, you will get a $10 credit towards every 1,000 points redeemed for a purchase. This means the purchases you make on this card will equate to up to a 3% return.

Moving on to the Fixed Points Travel Program, the card provides great value here as well. Here are the Fixed Points award charts:

Finally, another huge and I mean huge benefit to the redemption side of this card is the ability to convert to Membership Rewards Frequent Traveller participants. You can transfer the points earned on this card to six airline programs and two hotel programs. With minimum point values of 1 cent for Marriott, 1.5 cents for Aeroplan and British Airways you are looking at returns of ~1.9%! But that's a minimum - there are so many occasions where you can get 3, 4 or even more cents per points with this programs that puts the Business Platinum Card's return much higher!

Current Membership Rewards Transfer partners and the transfer ratio:

• Air Canada Aeroplan - 1 to 1
• Air France KLM Flying Blue - 1 to 0.75
• British Airways Executive Club - 1 to 1
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - 1 to 0.75
• Delta SkyMiles - 1 to 0.75
• Etihad Airways Guest - 1 to 0.75
• Hilton Honors - 1 to 1
• Marriott Bonvoy - 1 to 1.2

Features and Benefits

American Express Global Lounge Collection

This is the best small business card of lounge access with many different options providing access to over 1,400 business class lounges in over 130 countries around the world. The lounge access benefits for the Platinum Card are as follows

• Executive Lounges by Swissport: Free of charge access for the cardmember + Spouse and 2 children or one guest to participating lounges in Canada. (Benefit applies to both primary and additional Platinum cardmembers)
• Centurion Lounges: Access to American Express Centurion lounges and Centurion Studio lounges for the cardholder and 2 Guests (Benefit applies to both primary and additional Platinum cardmembers)
• Delta SkyClubs: Access to Delta Sky Clubs for no charge for the cardmember who are holding an Delta flight boarding pass. Additional guests must pay an entrance fee. Note: This option is not available if you are flying on the cheapest economy class fare with Delta. (Benefit applies to both primary and additional Platinum cardmembers)
  
• Additional Global Lounge Collection Partner Lounges: Cardmembers have complimentary access to American Express and Partner Lounge locations (guest access varies by location) Examples of this include select Lufthansa lounges.
• Plaza Premium Lounges: Cardmembers have complimentary access to Plaza Premium Lounges along with one guest (Benefit applies to both primary and additional Platinum cardmembers)
  
• Priority Pass Lounges: Cardmembers are provided Prestige Membership which provides unlimited lounge access with one guest included per lounge visit. All additional guests are US$32 (Benefit applies to both primary and additional cardmembers)
• Escape lounges: Cardmembers have complimentary access along with 2 Guests (Benefit applies to both primary and additional Platinum cardmembers)

Additional/supplementary Platinum Cards will also receive Priority Pass Membership and access to Centurion Lounges

Tip: Use Amex's Lounge search to see which lounges you can access with the Platinum Card.

Annual Travel Credit

Upon approval for the card and then each year on your card's anniversary date you will receive a $200 travel credit that can be used towards any single travel booking of $200 or more charged to Card with American Express Travel Online or through the Platinum Card Travel Service at 1-800-263-1616.

Wireless Services Credit

Business Platinum Cardmembers can enroll and earn up to $120 in statement credits each year for wireless services charged to their Card.  They can spend $10 each month with eligible wireless service providers and get a $10 credit, up to 12 times in a 12-month period, up to a maximum of $120 CAD

Annual Value Credits

Both the consumer and business Platinum Cards will receive exclusive annual credits from select merchants. For the Business Cards they are currently offering up to $500 in annual statement credits with Dell ($200) and Indeed ($300)

Automatic Hotel and Car Rental Elite Status

The Business Platinum Card from American Express comes with the following Elite Status benefits:

• Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status
• Hilton Honors Gold Elite Status
• Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Five Star Status

To receive these automatic elite statuses you'll have to log in to your Amex account and register for them. The Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status level provide more points on your stays as well as a welcome amenity plus potential room upgrades and late check out. Considering you need to stay in the range 25 nights to earn this status organically you can see why this can be considered a big benefit!

The Hilton Honors Gold Elite Status provides 80% bonus points, space available upgrades and a Daily Food & Beverage Credit (U.S. hotels only) or Continental Breakfast (non-U.S. hotels)

You can then use that status gained from this card to apply for status matches in other programs. We have a complete article on how you can do that:

Recommended reading: How to maximize the elite status benefits from The Platinum Card from American Express

The Hertz status provides 25% bonus points on Hertz rentals, a one car class upgrade and expedited rental service.

Fine Hotels & Resorts + The Hotel Collection

The Fine Hotels & Resorts program provides complimentary benefit at over 1,100 high end properties worldwide when you book via American Express Travel with your Platinum Card. Those benefits include a unique property benefit (typically a food and beverage, spa credit or general hotel credit), daily breakfast for two, guaranteed 4pm late check-out. room upgrade upon arrival when available, In-room Wi-Fi and Noon check-in, when available.

The The Hotel Collection from American Express provides up to a $100 USD hotel credit at participating properties and a room upgrade, when available. This is available at over 600 participating hotels and resorts in over 30 countries worldwide, when booking a minimum of two consecutive nights with American Express Travel.

International Airline program

With the Business Platinum Card from American Express discounts are available on the base fare for qualifying International First, Business, and Premium Economy Class tickets with participating airlines. Those airlines as of July 2022 are as follows:

To receive the discount you have to book with Platinum Travel or online at American Express Travel and pay in full with your American Express Card. Even though IAP states the discount is for Premium Economy and up, when you book with WestJet, you get the discount on any WestJet fare classes except Basic Economy. So if you book Economy 'Econo' fares and up with WestJet you will always save some extra cash by booking via American Express Travel and using your Business Platinum Card. Read our redemption story below on how we used our Platinum Card to save on our WestJet flights.

Recommended reading: Redemption Stories: Saving $3,800 on last minute flights with the Platinum Card from American Express

Premium Airport Transfer Service

A unique benefit only offered on the Business Platinum Card from American Express provides complimentary airport transfers when you book an eligible round-trip first class or business class flight, plus a minimum 1-night stay on the same itinerary. These bookings must be made through Platinum Card Travel Service with your Business Platinum Card. The service is available in Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver plus many international destinations.

Toronto Pearson International Airport Benefits

If you depart from Toronto Pearson International Airport the Business Platinum Card from American Express provides benefits such as a waived fee for Valet parking, a 15% discount on parking and the major benefit here: access to the Pearson Priority Security Lane in Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 so that you can bypass the long security lines!

Amex Experiences^TM

As with all American Express Cards the card comes with Amex Experiences^TM which includes Front Of The Line® Advance Access, Front Of The Line® Reserved Tickets, Front Of The Line® E-Updates, Special Offers & Experiences for all Cardmembers and Social Access for all Cardmembers.

There are also By Invitation Only event packages curated exclusively for Business Platinum Cardmembers

Amex offers

As with all American Express Cards the Business Platinum Card from American Express receives Amex Offers. These exclusive limited time offers sent out to cardmembers to receive statement credits or bonus points for using their card at select merchants. Depending on your shopping habits these offers alone can provide enough savings in a year to cover the annual fee on the card if not more! You can learn more about this feature in Rewards Canada's Guide to American Express Canada 'Amex Offers'

Business Solutions

The Business Platinum card comes with a very strong insurance package that includes the following:

• Cash Flow Management - You can maximize your cash flow with up to 55 interest free days
• Paperless Expense Management Reports delivered quarterly and annually.
• Dynamic Purchasing Power - Enjoy financial flexibility with no pre-set spending limit on purchases
• Employee Card Misuse Protection

Insurance

The Business Platinum card comes with a very strong insurance package that includes the following:

• Out of Province/Country Emergency Medical Insurance up to $5,000,000 (15 days under age 65)
• Trip Cancellation Insurance
• Trip Interruption Insurance
• Flight Delay Insurance
• Baggage Delay Insurance
• Lost or Stolen Baggage Insurance
• Car Rental Theft and Damage Insurance
• Hotel Burglary Insurance
• $500,000 Travel Accident Insurance
• Purchase Protection Plan
• Buyer's Assurance Protection Plan
• Mobile Device Insurance

What is good about this card

Pretty much everything that was listed above is good about the card!

On the points side, you have earn rates that hold their own against most other small business cards and you redemption options and value that eclipse those same competitors.

The benefits, we spent a lot of time discussing them above but should point out the most popular and best are the lounge access, hotel elite status, International Airline Program and Toronto Pearson benefits.

The current sign up bonus is another strong point. 150,000 points is worth a minimum of $1,500 towards statement credits and potentially well over that for other travel redemptions.

What is not so good about this card

As many of you know American Express has lower acceptance than Visa or Mastercard so there will be occasions where you cannot use this card to pay for items. Depending on where you live or travel, American Express does state that they are accepted at roughly between 80 and 90% of locations that take the other two brands of cards.

For some the base earn rate of 1.25 points per dollar may be low if they like to use consumer cards for their business purchases. However if your business does require a true small business card the 1.25 points is a decent earn rate. There are several cards that earn more in select spend categories but then this card beats them out on their base earn rate and the value of the rewards.

The $799 annual fee is definitely something to consider - it is one of the highest out of publicly available small business cards in Canada. If you cannot avail of the benefits this card provides it could be hard to justify that high of fee but if you can utilize the benefits this card more than pays for itself over and over.

Even though the card has a strong insurance package some consumers may find the Out of Province Emergency Medical Coverage not as strong as some other cards. The coverage of 15 days to age 64 is standard for American Express however competing there other ultra premium small business cards offering coverage up to 31 days or longer for those up to age 64 and even provide a few days coverage for those 65 and over.

Who should get this card

• Small Businesses looking to earn a big upfront bonus in the first three months of having the card
• Small Businesses looking to elevate their travel experiences
• Small Businesses who buy premium economy or higher class tickets with the airlines in the International Airline Program
• Small Businesses who want access to lounges across Canada and around the world and want to bring a guest
• Small Businesses who want the utmost in flexibility when redeeming their points by having great redemption options
  

Conclusion

This card was developed for small business owners who love to travel and want to enjoy extra benefits when doing so. What you have in the The Business Platinum Card from American Express is a card that provides a long list of valuable benefits that fits all aspects of luxury travel but you don't have to be the owner of multi million dollar corporation to have it. Canadian businesses big and small use this card to make their travel experiences better - whether it's a one person home based business or a one hundred person corporation. Add in a really big bonus, which is in fact one the largest publicly available bonuses in the market right now and you have a card that is winner for most small businesses.

Latest card details:

Other cards to consider if you are looking at this card:

American Express® Aeroplan®* Business Reserve Card
American Express® Business Gold Rewards Card
CIBC Aeroplan® Visa* Business Card
CIBC Aventura® Visa* Card for Business Plus
RBC Avion Visa Infinite Business
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Business card
TD® Aeroplan® Visa* Business Card

This review was first posted on July 16, 2022 and is updated on a regular basis.

Talk to us!

Tell us what you think of this feature in the comments section below or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter!